Prez poll: K'taka CM to act against MLAs who cross voted

The Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party, which was stung by cross voting during the Presidential election on Sunday, has decided to set up a committee to look into the matter. Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar told mediapersons in Bengaluru that the committee would go into the matter and appropriate action would be taken against MLAs who cross voted.

As per the results on Sunday it was found that 13 MLAs had voted in favour of Pranab Mukherjee in the presidential election. Also, a couple of votes may have been invalidated, said insiders.

The BJP suspects that it could be the Sriramulu faction and also some MLAs upset over being left out during the cabinet expansion who could have cross voted.

Massive cross voting in Karnataka helped Mukherjee get 53 per cent of the vote from that state. He polled 117 votes, against BJP candidate P A Sangma's 103.

However, sources say that the BJP does not appear to be too serious about initiating action against those who cross-voted and the setting up of the committee is only a formality. The BJP is in no mood to cause further problems now as it has already seen enough political turmoil in the state over the position of the CM.